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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 2025).

The Things They Say!

This is a good opportunity to say thanks to BSH for their support of the jazz scene in the North East (and beyond) - it's no exaggeration to say that if it wasn't for them many, many fine musicians, bands and projects across a huge cross section of jazz wouldn't be getting reviewed at all, because we're in the "desolate"(!) North. (M & SSBB on F/book 23/12/24)

Postage

18018 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 339 of them this year alone and, so far, 17 this month (May 7).

From This Moment On ...

MAY 2025

Thu 15: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: The Greatest in Jazz - Guitarists.
Thu 15: Pete Tanton & the Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 15: New Ways of Moving in the Counterworlds @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). John Garner & John Pope.

Fri 16: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 16: Sophie Speed with the Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 16: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 1:00-2:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 16: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 16: Giles Strong Quartet @ Longframlington Memorial Hall. 7:00pm (doors). Tickets: £12.00. from 01665 570984.
Fri 16: Hot Club du Nord @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £10.00.
Fri 16: Peter Donegan & Anthony Donegan @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. ‘Lonnie Donegan - The Stories’.

Sat 17: Teresa Watson Band @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sat 17: The Society Quartet @ Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Tel: 0191 500 9494. £26.00 (inc. two course meal). Line-up: Jason Holcomb, Hannah Taylor, Alix Shepherd & Abbie Finn.
Sat 17: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 17: Archie Brown & the Young Bucks @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues, Americana etc.
Sat 17: Rockin’ Turner Brothers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Rockabilly, Western swing etc.

Sun 18: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 12 noon-2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 18: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 18: Ruth Lambert & Giles Strong @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 18: Steve Summers Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 19: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 19: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 20: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.
Tue 20: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth NE61 1ND. 8:00pm.

Wed 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 21: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 21: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

Monday, August 16, 2021

Newcastle Jazz Festival Day Three (the middle sets): Not Now Charlie & the Abbie Finn Trio - August 15

Not Now Charlie: Jamie Toms (tenor sax); Pawel Jedrzejewski (guitar); Richard Campbell (keyboards); Liam Gaughan (bass guitar); Dave Mckeague (drums)

The home straight. The third of three days of varied, quality live jazz. Note 'live' jazz! Throughout the festival many of the musicians remarked upon the novelty of performing for, and in front of, people. Funny old world, eh? 

Jamie Toms and Liam Gaughan were just two of many faces working non-stop to help make the festival run without a hitch. If there was a hitch, it went unnoticed by the many punters who turned up to enjoy the music. For three quarters of an hour Jamie and Liam were able to forget about festival duties and take to the stage to enjoy themselves playing music. 

Tenor saxophonist Jamie fronts Not Now Charlie with six-string bassist Liam working in the engine room alongside powerhouse drummer Dave McKeague.  The five piece outfit played all original material from the band's pre-lockdown Nostalgia Revisited album and it was as if the guys had never been away. NNC ripped through the title track, Mythos and Hadath with its Middle Eastern vibe. Pianist Richard Campbell did the necessary, guitarist Pav Jedrzejewski did the business with a touch of Sco's angular blues feel for good measure, and, as a unit, we were listening to one tight, grooving band.                                                                                                            -----    
The Abbie Finn Trio: Abbie Finn (drums); Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Paul Grainger (double bass) 

It's easy to lose count, who did what and when? Now, without checking, Mr Paul Grainger could well lay claim to have been the hardest working musician at the 2021 Newcastle Jazz Festival. Here he was again today, down for two sessions. Later Mr PG would be heard working on Sue Ferris' Gerry Mulligan set (see LL's review). In a more familiar role, Paul joined drummer Abbie Finn and tenor saxophonist Harry Keeble to play a selection of numbers from Abbie's recently released Northern Perspective album and a few modern jazz standards. 

Abbie's Walkabout has a familiar ring to it. If it bears a resemblance to a classic number from way back that's no bad thing. Until a tune springs to mind, consider it Abbie's! The trio remembered Chick Corea with a fine take on Windows, Harry tipped his metaphorical hat to Michael Brecker on Don Grolnick's Nothing Personal, and the tenor horn gave a measured reading of Mingus' Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. To round off their set, Abbie and the boys danced their way through Victor Feldman's Seven Steps to Heaven
 
Day three was well and truly under way. We were looking ahead to the festival headline appearance of Mr Jay Phelps. Russell

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